Coated fabric and the process of making same



IAOGjT/lO.

J. A. WILSON.

COATED FABRIC AND THE PROCESS OF MAKING SAME. APPLICATION FILED um 12, 1920.

Con fin q Patented Feb. 14, 1922.

Ground FOb/ic 131 09112101. v /uu/Z Wilson,

JOHN A. WILSON, OF ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO THE DURATEX COM-- PANY, OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

COATED FABRIC AND THE PROCESS OF MAKING SAME.

income.

Application filed January 12, 1920.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN A. lVILsoN, residing at Elizabeth, New Jersey, have invented. certain new and useful Improvements in Coatedl abrics and the Processes of Making Same, of which I declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to improvements in coated fabric and the process of making same. This invention relates more particularly to coated fabrics which are known as artificial or imitation leather and which comprises a fabric base carrying a coating of suitable composition which is finished by graining or embossing, so as to present a surface having the appearance and other characteristics of genuine leather.

One of the chiefobjects of my invention is to provide a coated fabric or an artificial leather which has all of the desirable characteristics of genuine leather and which, particularly, has the feel of genuine leather and the flexibility which is charfu-teristic of Another object of my invention is to provide a coated fabric so constituted that the coating is so firmly tied to or united with thefabric base that it will not peel, crack or blister, so that, as a consequence, the resulting coated fabric will stand practically unlimited flexing or bending without deterioration.

A further object of the invention is to provide a coated fabric in which the coating is'attached to the fabric independently of the surface of contact between said coating and said fabric.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a coated fabric in which the coating is attached to the base by a large number of attaching fibres or filaments.

A further object of the invention is to provide a process of making coated fabrics in which the coating is securely attached to the fabric base.

Further objects of my invention will definitely appear from the detailed description to follow:

The invention is illustrated in the accom: panying drawing which shows somewhat diagrammatically a cross sectional elevation on a greatly enlarged scale of a coated fabric embodying a form of the invention.

In the present invention a coating or coat- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 14, 1922.

Serial No. 350,981.

ings are attached to a fabric base by a number of fibres or small threads which are, for the most part, secured, bound or tied into the body of the fabric base and extend outwardly from the surface of the base for a short distance into the body of the coating. The fibres or threads which are thus tied or anchored in the fabric base and have a portion embedded in the coating, serve to attach and hold the coating to the fabric base. In forming the coated fabric, a fabric base is used which has on. the side to be coated a short nap made up substantially of fibres partly woven, or bound into, and securely attached to the weave or warp and weft of the base. A suitable nap of this type has the nap fibres extending outwardly from the base at an angle or perpendicular to the base and form a sufficiently receptive medium to perinit the fibres to be embedded in the coating. The coating is applied to the nap in a fluid, semi-fluid or plastic state and its is thereafter hardened and treated to produce the desired surface. A fabric base having a suitable nap may be formed in any desired or effective manner, either during or after the weaving of the fabric, by which a. short nap of the character indicated above may be formed.

I may accomplish the objects of my invention by applying a suitable coating to the shortened nap surface of a suitable fabric base. In this case a nap is first raised on the fabric base by carding means or any other napping means known in the art. Such anap surface is characterized by an infinite number of small fibers which are torn from the threads making up the fabric base or other threads interwoven therewith. Some of these fibres are completely or very largely torn away from the threads of the fabric and are loosely retained as a mat on the. surface of the cloth by being enmeshed with the projecting ends of fibres which are more firmly held or anchored in the fabric. These loose fibres, which. if the fabric were now coated. would receive the coating and prevent its penetration to the underlying, firmly anchored fibres are removed by shortening the nap. as by shearing or singcing, leaving exposed a shorter nap made up of fibres bound in threads of the fabric and having a. free portion extending transversely nap in such a way to a distance fixed to the plane of the cloth The free portions,

by the shearing blade. because of their shortness, have an upstanding, bristling, appearance and the body of the nap is, therefore, penetrable by the coating compositions usually employed sufficiently to permit the free portions to be embedded therein, although the flexibility and suppleness of the individual fibres and of the fabric base are not materially afiected. The free end of each fibre of the nap is accordingly exposed to the coating operation in a manner to permit the coating material to embed the ends of the fibres. A coating of suitable material is applied to the shortened that it covers the-upper surface of the shortened nap and the fibres of the nap are embedded and anchored in the coating.

In the drawing T have illustrated, in a conventional form, a coated fabric produced in accordance with my invention. In this drawing T have shown a fabric base made up of the usual interwoven warp and woof threads. From one surface of this fabric base there projects a sheared nap. This sheared nap is formed by raising a nap on the surface of the fabric by subjecting the fabric to carding mechanism, or other mechanism known to the textile art, which picks or tears an infinite number of fibers partly or completely from the threads of the fabric and forms a nap surface made up of these fibers projecting from the fabric. The outer portion or surface of this nap contains fibres which are, for the most part, very fine and weakly secured or united to the fabric. This nap surface is then subjected to a shearing operation, such operation being well known in the textile art and needing no detailed description here. The sheared nap is made up of comparatively short fibers which are stronger and more firmly united to the fabric base than the fibers of an unsheared nap; The coating is applied to this sheared nap surface by any suitable coating or spreading means known in the art so that the upper surface of the sheared nap is completely covered by the coating'andthe fibers of the sheared nap are imbedded in the coating in such a way that they tie or anclfor it to the fabric base. The fibers of the nap are transversely imbedded in the coating and this may distinguish from a coating applied to an ordinary nap surface in which the fibers of the nap are not substantially imbedded in the coating and do not extend transversely of the coating. l have obtained very desirable results by the use of a coating composition composed of a solution of pyroxylin in a suitable solvent. The necessary pigments to give the desired color and finish and the vegetable oil necessary to flexibility may be added to this solution and the evaporation of the solvent leaves a firm, flexible coating of pyroxylin oil and pigment uponand in the sheared nap surface. The particular composition which I use for this coatin forms no part of my present invention as contemplate the use of any suitable coating composition in use or known in the art. In place of a. pyroxylin composition, 1 may well use a suitable rubber composition and very desirable results will also be obtained. After the coating has been applied it may be finished by graining or embossing in the manner well known in the art. In place of shortening the nap by shearing, it may be shortened by a singeing operation and a coated fabric made by applying a suitable coating to such a singed nap surface will have very desirable characteristics. Such singeing operations are well known in the textile art and I do not deem it necessary to describe it in detail here. The singed nap surface is made up of comparatively short fibers which are stronger and more firmly united to the fabric base than the fibers of an unsinged or unshortened nap. The coating is applied to this surface so that the upper surface of the singed nap is completely covered by the coating and the fibers of the singed nap are transversely imbedded therein. The fabric formed from the singed nap base and the method of making it are only covered generically in the present application,'the specific featuresof this fabric being covered specifically in a divisional application Serial No. 484C386. v

' l have found that the use of axfabric with a shortened nap as the base-fora coated fabric results in very decided *advantages. The resulting coated fabricdisksuperior to any artificial or imitation leather?" on the market. It is well known that theide'jfect of practically all artificial or imitationleathers is that the coating, being merely a surface coating, has a' tendency toblister and to crack and peel from the fabric base. Heretoforeit has been impossible to remedy this defect'completely. T find that by using a fabric base having a shortened nap and applying the coating to this shortened nap, the coating is tied, anchored or united to the fabric base so firmly and at so many points thatit will not crack and peel no matter how severe the handling to which it is subjected. ll find also that artificial leather produced in this way has the feel, of genuine leather and I believe thisto be due to the fact that the shortened. nap to which the coating is ap plied, acts more or less as a cushion between the coating and the fabric base, with there sult that the product has the soft, springy feel of real leather.

I am aware that it has been proposed to 3 an artificial leather by coating a nap produce but, so far as I am aware, no one surface,

has ever proposed to coat a shortened nap unshortened nap surface has a much greater tendency to crack and peel than when applied to a shortened nap surface. The results obtained by my invention are very much more desirable than those obtained by coating an unshortened nap surface and I. believe that the advantages obtained by me are due to the fact that I apply the coating to a shortened nap. I wish it to be understood that I contemplate, as within the spirit of my invention, the use of any desired coating composition and that I am not restricted to the use of a pyroxylin or rubber compound. I have spokenof the application of a coating to the fabric base and by this I mean the complete coating, no matter whether it is applied in one coat or by means of several coats successively applied.

I am aware that the particular embodiments of my invention which I have shown and described here, are susceptible of considerable variation without departing from the spirit thereof and, therefore, I desire to claim the same broadly as well as S)8Cificall as indicated by the appended claims.

I- aving thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A coated fabric comprising, a fabric base and a coating, said base having a nap composed of threads or fibres fixed to said base and projecting a short, substantially uniform, distance and embedded in said coating.

2. A coated fabric comprising a fabric base having a shortened nap imbedded in a coating of suitable composition applied thereto.

3. A coated fabric comprising a fabric base having a shortened nap, and a substantially continuous coating of suitable composition applied to the shortened nap of the fabric and covering the upper surface thereof.

4. A coated fabric comprising a fabric base having a shortened nap, and a coating containing a cellulose ester applied to said fabric base. so that the shortened nap of said fabric base is imbedded in said coatings.

5. A coated fabric comprising a fabric base having a sheared nap coated on the sheared nap side of the fabric with one or more coatings of a suitable composition.

(3. A coated fabric comprising a fabric basc having a sheared nap imbcdded in a coating of suitable composition applied thereto.

7. A coated fabric comprising a fabric base. having a sheared nap and a coating of suitable composition applied to the sheared napof the fabric and of such thickness to cover the upper surface of said sheared nap and extend substantially to the ground of the fabric.

8. A coated fabric comprising a fabric base having a sheared nap, and a coating of suitable composition applied to the sheared nap of the fabric and covering the upper surface thereof.

t). coated fabric comprising a fabric base having a sheared nap and a coating containing a cellulose cslcr applied to said fabric base, so that the sheared nap of said fabric base is imbeddcd in said coating.

1.0. A coated fabric comprising a fabric base having a shcarcd nap and a cellulosic coating carricd by and anchored to the sheared nap of said fabric.

11. coated fabric con'iprising a fabric base having a sheared nap and a pyroxylin coating applied to the sheared nap of said fabric and of sullicicnt thickness to cover the upper surface of said sharrcd nap and extend substantially to the ground of the fabric.

12. The process of making coatcd fabrics comprising applying a substantially continuous coating to the shortened nap of a fabric.

13. The process of making coated fabrics comprising applying a suitable coating to the shortened nap of a fabric so as to imbed the shortened nap in said coating.

H. The process of making coated fabrics comprising applying a coating containing a cellulose ester to the shortened nap of a fabric. so that said shortened nap is imbedded in said coating.

15. The process of making coated fabric conmrising raising a nap on a suitable fabric. shortening said nap. and applying a suitable coating to said shortened nap.

.16. The process of making coated fabrics comprising applying a substantially continuous coating to the sheared nap of a fabric.

'17. The process of making'coated fabrics comprising applying a suitable coating to thc sheared nap of a fabric so as to imbed the sheared nap in said coating.

18. The process of making coated fabrics comprising applying a suitable coating to the sheared nap of a fabric so as to cover the surface of said sheared nap and extend substantially to the ground of the fabric.

19. The process of making coated fabrics comprising applying a ccllulosic coating to the sheared nap of a fabric so that said sheared nap is imbcdded in said coating.

20. The process of making coated fabrics comprising raising a nap on a suitable fabric. shearing said nap. and applying a suitable coating to said sheared nap.

21. A coated fabric comprising a fabric base and a coating. said base having a short. bristling. nap firmly secured to said base and embedded in said coating.

22. A coated fabric comprising a fabric base and a coating, said base having a short of said fabric said portions extending outnap, the body of said nap being permeable wardly from said fabric to a short substanby said coating and firmly secured to said tially uniform distance, and a coating, said 10 fabricbase and embedded in said coating. extending portions being embedded in said 23. A coated fabric comprising a fabric coating.

base having a short nap formed of the ex- In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

tending portions of fibres bound in the body JUHN A. WILSON. 

